due to the fact they are kids!
the godforsaken ignorant and amazingly STUPID and tasteless
RAT DAY was back at my old alma mater FOX CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL!
yes, i'm naming the name here. i'm embarrassed for my old school.
i am not surprised tho. well, let me rephrase that.
i AM surprised after the rat day coverage and supposed "sensitivity"
talk the offending students were supposedly given by the administration
that it was not stopped this year. i am PROUD of the students that walked out and happy that the media covered it. tho, it should have been more in depth.
THIS is bullying. rat day , well. i blame that parents even more than the students that should know better.
i went to the district so did my sister, my daughter and my nephew and my niece.
the education is outstanding but the ethics and even common sense still shown after all these years is just sad.
as i said, i am embarrassed. those children should be embarrassed and their parents should be ashamed.
and i have a little bit of a news flash for the kids that think rat day is a hoot.
i'm in my 50's. had a LOT of reunion type of things. i know how a lot of my fellow FCHS grads ended up.
don't think because your parents are well off and your grades are good and from a highly regarded district that you will continue to be a "fortunate son" quite often
it doesn't work out that way.
consider THAT fact when you make fun of those that were not born into the circumstances that you were.
having money it seems, does not buy class.
i can tell you honestly. someday, some of you that think rat day is fine, will look back at your part in it and flush with shame and hope that YOUR children never find out how shallow , how your lack of empathy and your sheep like behavior to continue to be a part of the "special" group affected other people, other kids, other families that hurt because of your nastiness.
sad, sad and hurtful.
i can only hope this attitude, this mindset stops this year.
let this be the last year for "rat day."
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4 comments:
Sherry,
I too am a Fox Chapel graduate. Having graduated only a few years ago, I was there for the beginnings of "Rat Day," and as far as I can remember, the term "rat" seems to have popped up around my sophmore year. You termed "Rat Day" as bullying, and I can't really disagree. What does annoy me though, is that this recent coverage, and the previous article put out about a year ago regarding the topic, is QUITE skewed. It roots the issue in something that is quite different from the truth.
Although the people drawing attention to the event have been spinning the situation as "rich kids making fun of 'less-fortunate' kids" - that's not the case. Nor is it an issue of "Fox Chapel kids" simply bullying "Sharpsburg kids." Neither money or neighborhood is the issue. It is rather, completely based on attitude.
It is not to say that every high school has its own politics and heirarchy. Travel just down the road to Shady Side Academy where all students are polished and made to wear cookie-cut uniforms, and you'll STILL see kids forming their own social groups. Then add the factor of, in order to be part of a social group, you need to act, dress, and ultimately BE a certain way. Such is the case with preps, jocks, etc., and yes, "rats."
"Rats" are simply a social group, and just like any other social group, they have social norms. Especially in a high school scenario, where kids are striving to "fit in," students actually end up taking on and adapting INTO stereotypes. It just so happens that "rats" are the most distinct group at FCAHS, and thus get the most attention.
Well then what is the "rat" stereotype? While yes, they do TEND to be students from Sharpsburg and from lower income families, that is NOT what defines a "rat." Not all of the poorer kids are rats, and yes, even some of the wealthier kids have been given that same tag. At Fox Chapel, "rat" is generally synonymous with "delinquent." It's not a matter of being poor or rich, it's a matter of whether or not you're a "class troublemaker." They're students who generally think their "tough," "street," "gangsta," etc. They are often disruptive in class, and often a distraction to other students. One of the reasons they are such a distinctive group, is because they physically call so much attention upon themselves.
Further, to paint the picture of the "rats" as simply being victims to another social group, would be a huge misrepresentation. While I agree that "rat day" is nothing more than bullying, it goes BOTH ways. The "rats" were never very accepting, or very kind to other groups either. And as I already said, they are called rats BECAUSE of their BEHAVIOR.
In addition, at a school with upwards of 4,000 students, only a small handful of kids - less than 20 - who dress up for "rat day," are certainly a poor representation of the student body. However, when there are far more students who are considered "rats" due to their disruptive behavior, probably approx. 50 kids PER GRADE, it puts quite a different perspective on which group is more antagonizing.
Sherry,
Ah, immediately after posting that previous comment, I started talking to a friend about the event. She's a senior at Fox Chapel.
According to her, it wasn't even "rat day." Apparently, it was actually a "Fresh Prince of Bel Aire day," though unofficially as the faculty probably wouldn't approve of the silly idea. Many of the students dressed up in an early 90's fashion, which some of the "rats" mistook as an attack on them. You might think, "yeah right, poor excuse," but I don't doubt it. Not only is that show, along with "Saved by the Bell," sort of an inside-joke at FC, and has become a part of FCAHS culture and humor, but the kids often designate random fridays for stupid things all the time without the approval from the school. Beach-day, superhero day, etc. They pick ridiculous things to dress up as in a joking manner.
thank you for your explanation.
tho i have to disagree. some may take it as fun, but behind it, there is always a hardcore of sterotyping and bullying.
it was the same back in the 60's when a few of my friends graduated in 64, me in 69, my sister in the early 70's my daughter in the early 90's and my nephew and niece in the mid to late 90's. i have friends and family whose children are attending now.
back in 64, the kids from blawnox and indianola were the ones that were looked down on, had little and big issues every day in the halls and classrooms, the gym.
in 69, it was those same kids and a few from aspinwall.
we had the "chaps" the "wanna be's"(who were even more cutting in remarks and attitudes while striving to be fully accepted into chapdom) we had the "great ignored" those that just wanted to graduate and get out and move on.
the average kids that formed their own groups, just as now.
when my daughter was in school there were the chaps and the burn outs as the 2 big groups.
the problems came into being trying to interact between those groups.
believe me, the administration and some teachers has assumptions about both groups.(i'm pretty well aquainted with teachers and administrator's attitudes and how the system works, have more than a few as family and friends)
i remember when the sharpsburg grade school closed. the parents from ohara sat on one side of the room, the sharpsburg parents on the other for every meeting. the parents from sharpsburg were well aware of the parents and some of the teachers thoughts about sharbsburg kids coming there.(sharpsburg parents were told to pack their kids healthy lunches instead of junk food!)
a few teachers even went so far as to tell the sharpsburg children that they could help the kerr kids in sports and the kerr kids could help them in school work.
sterotypes!?(if the kids from shatpsburg would have all been african-american the naacp would have had a feild day with THAT remark)
i remember the teacher and the boards attitude in 69 when it was clear that it would be mandated to merge sharpsburg into the district.
you would have thought the cast of west side story were coming to rumble in the halls.
i've walked in both worlds.
i also know the spin that all school districts put out to protect reputation and property values as the district has a lot to do with those. make no mistake on that.
when my sister was in high school there a boy stuffed an m-80 in a toilet. he blew the hell out of the bathroom. the new people had film on all the t.v. channels. one older teacher ended up resigning.
yet the district sent a lettr home AFTER the footage was already aired, saying it was noting,, minor damage,childish prank...
i could go on, but you understand.
my point is, the district should have cracked down last year after the publicity. they didn't. they rarely ever did, qafter any incident.
i'm not defending the actions of the sharpsburg kids at all. the administration needs to get serious about stopping this on all sides. the rules apply to everyone equally.
they can start by some lessons in the humanity of every student. rich, poor, inbetween, honor students and those that are struggling. the basic dignity of every human being.
thank you so much for your reply to my post.
be well. sherry
just for the record. i was born and raised in aspinwall. my mother just moved from there a few months ago. my grandparents lived there. my mother was born there.
my daughter went to aspinwall grade school, sharpsburg, kerr, dorseyville, fox chapel. duquesne university, got her masters in physical therapy and was on the duquesne honor roll every semester.
she was one of the kids told she could help the kerr kids in sports and they could help her in school work.
she was scared to death to go to kerr in 4th grade because she knew she was awful in sports!
sterotypes.
there were quite a few kids like her. they were there when i was in school, and when my friends graduated way back in 64.
please excuse my typos. my hands do not work well in the morning, or my eyes.
i'm the typo queen anyway. ; )
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